●Reading TV and audio devices: a review
Step 1: Lead-in
New technology is often used in old ways. Fill in the following chart:
Technology
Usage
Computer
Used as a typewriter/tape recorder/VCD
player/notebook/calendar/telephone/calculator.
The Internet
Used as a
library/magazine/TV/telephone/bank/store.
Cellphone
Used as a
telephone/watch/calendar/camera/computer.
Meanwhile, with the development of science technology, more functions are
added to electric products. Look at the picture: Have you ever seen such a mouse
before?
What function do you think it has? (It can also act as a CD player)
What functions do you need in a TV set or an audio device?
Are you interested in the development of TV and audio devices? Today, we are going to read
a passage about this topic.
Step 2: Fast reading for general ideas
Go through the passage as quickly as possible and try to find answers to the three questions in part
A on Page 2. Just focus on and identify the information needed to answer these questions.
Answers
A 1 It began on 11 May 1928 in New York and in London on 20 August 1929.
2 It is the TV set combined with the Word Wide Web.
3 The cassette recorder.
Step 3: Detailed reading for important information
1. Let’s read the passage a second time and complete Parts C1 and C2 on page 4.
Answers
C1 1 T 2 T 3 F
4F
5F
6T
7T
C2
Year
Event
1877
First recording of a human voice was made.
1925
First public showings of wireless TV transmissions were made in the USA.
1948
Cable TV began in the USA; 3 American scientists invented the transistor.
1951
Colour broadcasts began in the USA.
1954
Invention of transistor led to the development of cassette recorders.
1958
First LPs(long-play records) came onto the market.
1962
Satellites began to be used to broadcast TV.
1982
First CDs produced by using digital technology were made available.
1987
Development of MP3 technology started in Germany.
1989
International standards for digital TV were established.
1992
Development of MD player began.
1996
First WebTV set-top boxes came onto the market.
2. Listen to the tape and try to correct the wrong sentences in Part C1:
Keys: 3. Digital TV is delivered with greater clarity than satellite TV.
4. the first record player was invented in 1877.
3. Read the text again and choose the best answers according to the text:
1) When and where was the first long-distance TV broadcast made?
A. In 1925 in the USA.
B. In 1926 in the UK.
C. In 1928 in the UK.
D. In 1928 in both the USA and the UK.
2) Who might be the inventor of the first T V?
A. Vladimir Zworykin from Russia. B. Philo Farnsworth in the USA.
C. John Logie Baird from Scotland. D. It remains uncertain.
3) How many countries have put digital TV into operation according to the passage?
A. Only one. B. Already two. C. At most three. D. At least four.
4) Who might have attributed to the development of the Walkman?
A. Two Japanese engineers. B. Three American scientists.
C. Thomas Edison.
D. Emile Berliner.
5) What is the main factor that causes the spring up of music websites all over the Internet?
A. The popularity of Walkman.
B. The development of the MD player.
C. The development of MPs technology.
D. The wide use of Discman.
6) How is the passage organized ___________________.
A. by paragraphs
B. in chronological order
C. by concepts
D. by sub-topics
Keys: 1)-6) DDBACD
Now, read the Reading strategy on page 3. Attention: subtitles appear after titles and provide more
information about the text and subtitle can show how a text is organized. Read the passage again
and figure out how this text is organized.
TV
Early history of TV
(In order of time)
The modern age: Cable TV, satellite TV, digital TV,…
Audio devices
Early history of audio devices
(By types of equipment)
Tape recorders and players
Sounds goes digital
Which of the following best shows the structure of the passage?
A. T
B. T
C. T
D. T
①
③④
①
①② ④
②
③ ④
①
⑤
②
③
④
③
②
③
⑤
⑤
⑤
③
③
(T =title ①= subtitle 1
②= subtitle 2
③= subtitle 3 ④= subtitle 4 ⑤= subtitle 5 )
Key: B
Now we can see that the reading passage is mainly organized in chronological order. A timeline or
a time chart may help you understand the text better. Could you make a timeline by yourselves?
Step 4: Practice:
1. Besides the reading strategy, I’d like to give you another tip on reading. Do not refer to the
dictionary every time you come across a new word. Just guess the meaning from the context. It is
very important to read the sentences before and after the sentence which contains the unknown
word. From the information before and after, you should be able to guess the meaning of the word.
Now let’s complete Parts D on page 4.
Answers
D 1e
2d
3h
4c
5g
6f
7a
8b
2. Wang Li attended a media technology exhibition and after that he gives a report to his
classmates about it. Read it in Part E and fill in the blanks with words given in the box.
Answers
E
(1) wireless
(5) 200
(9) compact
(2) broadcasting
(6) households
(10) Germany
(3) Britain
(7) recording
(4) 65
(8) recorders
Step 5: Post-reading activities
1. Pair work:
Choose one of the greatest inventions in human’s history that you are most familiar with. Try to
tell your partner about its development. Remember that you should organize your reporter in order
of time.
For reference
A Quick History of Bicycles
The Walking Machine
In 1817 Baron von Drais invented a walking machine that
would help him get around the royal gardens faster: two
same-size in-line wheels, the front one steerable, mounted in a frame which you
straddled. The device was propelled by pushing your feet against the ground, thus rolling
yourself and the device forward in a sort of gliding walk. The machine became known as
the Draisienne or hobby horse. It was made entirely of wood. This enjoyed a short lived
popularity as a fad, not being practical for transportation in any other place than a well
maintained pathway such as in a park or garden.
The Velocipede or Boneshaker
The next appearance of a two-wheeled riding machine was in 1865, when pedals were
applied directly to the front wheel. This machine was known as the velocipede ("fast
foot"), but was popularly known as the bone shaker, since it was also made entirely of
wood, then later with metal tires, and the combination of these with the cobblestone
roads of the day made for an extremely uncomfortable ride. They also became a fad, and
indoor riding academies, similar to roller rinks, could be found in large cities.
The High Wheel Bicycle
In 1870 the first all metal machine appeared. (Previous to this metallurgy was not
advanced enough to provide metal which was strong enough to make small, light parts
out of.) The pedals were still attached directly to the front wheel with no freewheeling
mechanism. Solid rubber tires and the long spokes of the large front wheel provided a
much smoother ride than its predecessor. The front wheels became larger and larger as
makers realized that the larger the wheel, the farther you could travel with one rotation of
the pedals. You would purchase a wheel as large as your leg length would allow. This
machine was the first one to be called a bicycle ("two wheel"). These bicycles enjoyed a
great popularity among young men of means (they cost an average worker six month's
pay), with the hey-day being the decade of the 1880s.
The High Wheel Tricycle
While the men were risking their necks on the high wheels,
ladies, confined to their long skirts and corsets, could take a
spin around the park on an adult tricycle. These machines also
afforded more dignity to gentlemen such as doctors and
clergymen. Many mechanical innovations now associated with
the automobile were originally invented for tricycles. Rack and
pinion steering, the differential, and band brakes, to name a
few!
The High Wheel Safety
Improvements to the design began to be seen, many with the small wheel in the front to
eliminate the tipping-forward problem. One model was promoted by its manufacturer by
being ridden down the front steps of the capitol building in Washington, DC. These
designs became known as high-wheel safety bicycles. Since the
older high-wheel designs had been known simply as bicycles,
they were now referred to as "ordinary bicycles" in comparison
with the new-fangled designs, and then simply as "ordinaries."
The Hard-Tired Safety
The further improvement of metallurgy sparked the next innovation, or rather return to
previous design. With metal that was now strong enough to make a fine chain and
sprocket small and light enough for a human being to power, the next design was a return
to the original configuration of two same-size wheels, only now,
instead of just one wheel circumference for every pedal turn, you
could, through the gear ratios, have a speed the same as the huge
high-wheel. The bicycles still had the hard rubber tires, and in the
absence of the long, shock-absorbing spokes, the ride they
provided was much more uncomfortable than any of the
high-wheel designs. Many of these bicycles of 100 years ago had
front and/or rear suspensions. These designs competed with each other, your choice being
the high-wheel's comfort or the safety's safety, but the next innovation tolled the death of
the high-wheel design.
The Pneumatic-Tired Safety
The pneumatic tire was first applied to the bicycle by an Irish veterinarian who was
trying to give his young son a more comfortable ride on his tricycle. This inventive
young doctor's name was Dunlop. Sound familiar? Now that comfort and safety could be
had in the same package, and that package was getting cheaper as manufacturing
methods improved, everyone clamored to ride the bicycle. This 1898 Yale uses a shaft
drive to dispense with the dirty chain.
2. Group work:
Undoubtedly, in the future, both TV and audio devices will still play a very important role in
human’s life. But they’ll certainly be advanced than those of today. Let’s work in pairs and design
future TVs or audio devices.
3. Let’s come to Part F. Work in pairs and share your opinions with each other.
4. Discussion: What functions would you like your TVs or audio devices to have in the future?
Step 6: Language points:
Words
review, broadcast, uncertain, altogether, age, play,
launch, demand, degree, spring, personally, delight
assume, convenience
Useful expressions
contribute to, be responsible to, be superior to ,
than before, come on to the market,
combine…with…,wind up, apply…to…, add to, in
the following years, for the first time over, spring up
Vocabulary
Sentence patterns
1. Altogether, three man should be responsible.
2. It took more than two decades, though, until 1951,
for colour broadcasts to begin in the USA.
3. It took 50 years before ….
4. since the beginning of 1999, the popularity of MP3
has increased to such a degree that….
Step 7: Homework:
1. Read the text again and again. Try to memorize the language points.
2. Parts A1 and A2 on pages106 & 107 in Workbook.